Does HIPAA Allow You to Re-Disclose Records from Another Provider?

Are the records you receive from another provider a part of your medical records? Does HIPAA allow you to re-disclose records from another provider?

Transcript:

If you’ve requested medical records from a hospital system, a colleague, or another provider, and you’ve received those records, the question is, are those records now a part of your medical record? Well, the short answer is yes, in one form or another, you requested those records, with the intention of reviewing them and making a determination that uses the information contained in them. Whether or not there’s information that acts actually altered, your decision-making process, your diagnosis, or treatment plan is really irrelevant. If you found nothing in there, then it confirms. Or if you found something it may confirm or change. And so regardless of how it is, if those the when you receive those records, they’re used to help you make your determinations, and they become a part of the medical record.

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Now, this extends to when you receive medical record requests. And in those medical record requests, that is now a part of your medical medical record. And you would also send those. Now, it’s very important when you receive the request, sometimes they’re very intentionally worded, make sure that you follow, the intentionality of that wording. Follow that wording Exactly because remember, you’re supposed to send only what is minimally viable for that particular request. And so you want to make sure that you get that covered.

Now, there are some exceptions to this rule about redisclosure. So when you get that request, yes, you can re-disclose those records along with yours, except for a couple of cases, federal and state differentials. Now, on a federal standpoint, there is a limitation that’s placed on that redisclosure. And that is for alcohol and substance abuse records. So if they’ve received treatment, therapy, whatever the case might be for alcohol and substance abuse, those records would not be able to be re-disclosed. Instead, you would not disclose them now, what’s what’s important to know in that respect, is the notes that you would receive what actually come with a note telling you that you’re not able to re-disclose them. Okay, so that’ll make it abundantly clear for you from a federal standpoint. On a state standpoint, it’s a little bit different. The state actually restricts mental health and developmental disabilities. So Mental Health and Developmental Disability records from a state standpoint cannot be re-disclosed. So that is really important as well. Even though you may have used those in your judgment, they are a part of your medical record, in this particular case, due to state statute, you’re not able to send those on to another requester.

Now, there are exceptions to both the federal and the state restrictions. And that is if the patient has given you explicit permission to share those records in those instances. In those cases, of course, the patient can waive that exclusion and waive those confidentiality rights, and ask you to send them. That can come in through a variety of different ways, whether it be through a standard authorization that gives you explicit permission to share those records, those redisclosure records in those particular exclusion areas, or a right of access, whatever the case might be. But in any of those cases, make sure you pay very close attention to the request, pay very close attention to the permissions that have been given, and know that those restrictions are in place. But yes, you can re-disclose, yes, they’re a part of your medical record. Hopefully, this information helps you out and we’ll catch you next week.